Darkest Hour
by Shawen A. Greer
Summary: Takes place during the missing scene of Sein Und Zeit ***SPOILER WARNING***


Darkest Hours   
By: Shawen A. Greer   
Rating: G   
Classification: MSR, Angst   
Disclaimer: As everyone already knows, these characters  
don't belong to me but to Chris Carter, Fox Broadcasting  
and 1013 Productions. They are borrowed without  
permission, but without intent of infringement.   
SUMMARY: Takes place during the missing scene of  
Sein Und Zeit   
SPOILERS: Sein Und Zeit   
FEEDBACK: Please, please, please!   
shawen@altavista.com   
My stories and lots of other great ones are at The Hall of  
'X' www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/8840   
Special thanks as always to Georgia for the beta and the  
encouragement   
  
........................................................   
Mulder's Apartment  
  
  
Scully had never seen Mulder so broken, so lost. His  
anguish was only surpassed by his anger. Anger towards  
his mother for leaving him and taking with her so many  
unanswered questions, as well as an insatiable anger  
toward those that he felt sure were accountable for her  
death. But the biggest portion of the anger he harbored  
against himself for disregarding her first call and for not  
being there for her second, which was to be her last.   
There was so much she had wanted to tell him. Though  
he was sure that she had attempted to reveal something to  
him even in her death, he was clueless as to what that  
secret could be.  
  
Finally unable to contend with the emptiness he felt  
inside, he surrendered himself into his partner's arms, his  
tears flowing freely as his tormented sobs fell on her  
shoulder. The force of his grief shook them both, and  
soon she realized that her tears had joined his with every  
moan that echoed his wounded heart. She held him to her  
breast and rocked him as she would a frightened child,  
whispering comfort in his ears though she knew they had  
probably numbed long ago as he slipped deeper into a  
dark and soundless abyss.   
  
Without warning, he pulled away from her with an  
intensity that sent her reeling backwards onto the floor.   
She watched in awe, witnessing first hand his grief in  
expected stages. He had already conquered denial thanks  
to the forensic report that she had delivered, refuting any  
plausibility that his mother had been murdered. Mulder  
had been forced to accept those findings, having asked  
Scully to indulge him the favor of performing his  
mother's autopsy, knowing that she alone would search  
for the truth.  
  
His anger took over now and the items that had managed  
to remain on his desk with the first assault were now  
fiercely cast aside. His hollow cries were like that of a  
wounded animal and Scully watched as the small lamp  
was ripped out of the wall and smashed to the floor  
exploding into a barrage of glass and plastic. The coffee  
table was flipped end over end with a single heave and  
finally exhausted, he melted into the broken glass and  
discarded papers wishing himself to be discarded as well.  
  
She crawled to him oblivious to the jagged pieces that  
threatened her small hands and pulled him to her. This  
time he did not surrender to the comfort she offered, and  
he turned away pulling his long body into ball like a  
troubled child. However, Scully having the strong and  
determined mind of her father, refused to accept his  
attempt at seclusion.  
  
His voice was raspy and foreign as it landed on her ears,  
his arms thrashing wildly at her attempts to hold him.   
"Get away from me, Scully. Just go away."   
  
"I'm not leaving you Mulder." Her hand reached out  
again to touch his shoulder, but his response was as  
though she was lightning.  
  
"No Scully, no." he pleaded with hardened sobs. "Don't  
you understand? I can't lose you again. Walk away  
while you still can." He lay on that hard floor covering  
the remnants of the lamp and associated rubble, his  
breathing strained by the crushing weight of his sorrow.  
  
The tears burned her cheeks and the pain in her chest was  
unbearable. She feared that he was sinking faster than  
she could save him, but she was determined to try. She  
knew his heart. He needed her, though he was unwilling  
to admit it, but he also feared their closeness. Everything  
he had was now taken away, and he had already lost  
Scully once. He could not live through that again,  
especially now. There was no one else left for him.  
  
The broken glass popped and crackled under her legs as  
she used all her strength to roll his shivering body onto  
her lap. Emotionally weak, he no longer had the strength  
to fight her and she pulled him so tightly to her that she  
could feel his heart beat in her own chest. Her arms held  
him tightly as she rocked slightly from side to side  
stroking his hair until his shaking subsided and his sobs  
turned to an occasional whimper.  
  
He looked up at her, calmer now, his eyes pink and  
swollen from the tears. They sat searching one another's  
faces for what seemed like hours, though it could have  
only been minutes, trying to find the words that needed to  
be said, but words right now were unnecessary.  
  
His head still lay against her breast and he could feel the  
beat of her heart, rhythmic in its spell. Her hand brushed  
the side of his hot face as it had been doing since he  
turned to her, then she just stopped, her hand remaining  
on his cheek.  
  
Still captured by his dreamlike state, the sight of Scully's  
face lowering closer to his seemed unreal. However, the  
feel of her soft lips touching his cheek felt quite real to  
his stinging skin. He closed his eyes lost in the sensation,  
and she gently kissed them one at a time before coming to  
rest on his lips.   
  
She kissed them twice before his mind was able to  
register what was happening. It all seemed like a dream,  
and he just lay there in the shelter of her arms drowning  
in an endless sea of emotion having traveled the course  
from desolation now to increasing elation.   
  
He responded to her next kiss, this time his mouth  
opening to receive hers, each if them emitting small cries  
feeling the undeniable hunger that was awakened. Their  
passion came in a wave of exhilaration turning the kisses  
from gentle comfort to ardent need. He remained in her  
arms, holding her beautiful face in the palms of his hands  
expressing his inner most thoughts with his mouth though  
not with words. His blood coursed through his veins  
pounding in his head again with every beat of his heart.   
He pulled away to catch his breath and to look into her  
eyes, unprepared for the frightening sight before him. He  
thought, at first, the blood was hers against the delicate  
white of her skin, but realized that it was from his own  
hand, which had been cut rather badly in his earlier  
conflict.  
  
He lifted it away from her face slowly staring at the  
gaping wound as if seeing his own blood for the first  
time. He cradled it in his other hand for a moment and  
then looked up at Scully still in a daze and unsure of what  
to do.  
  
"Mulder!" Her exclamation pierced the silence that had  
settled around them, watching the slow stream of blood  
pooling into his open palm from below his thumb at the  
base of his hand.   
  
"Where's your first aid kit?" she asked as she rose to her  
feet.  
  
His head rose to look at her, but his eyes were far away.  
  
"Mulder," she said, a little more forceful this time, "first  
aid kit?"  
  
"It's under the, uh, bathroom sink," he answered, more  
like a question than a statement.  
  
She returned seconds later with a dampened washcloth,  
the first aid kit, and an ancient bottle of peroxide, helping  
him to the sofa and out of the remaining glass.  
  
Using the gauze from the first aid kit and a quick splash  
from the bottle, she expertly cleaned the cut to reveal  
what she had hoped. It had looked worse than it actually  
was, and she could probably stop the bleeding with a  
butterfly instead of taking him for stitches.   
  
He watched as her doctor's hands moved quickly to repair  
his hand using the same compassion that had fought him  
so desperately to repair his heart and his mind. The  
bandage seemed to serve its purpose as the bleeding  
stopped, and she fell back into the sofa with a sigh and  
closed her eyes.   
  
He quietly took the washcloth that lay across her knee  
that she had carried out but not used, and after brushing  
her hair away from her face, gently rubbed it against her  
cheek where the crimson streaks had dried. Her left arm  
reached up to take his hand, still holding the damp cloth  
to her cheek. Their eyes found each other again and they  
both smiled at the unspoken words that they shared. She  
dropped her hand again by her side, allowing him to  
demonstrate his gratefulness to her for all that she was,  
and for all she was to become.  
  
When he was finished, he gently touched a kiss to her  
once again white cheek and settled back into the arm of  
the sofa pulling her down with him. She laid her head on  
his chest, her body spreading out to lie between his legs,  
pushing her shoes off the backs of her heels and allowing  
them to fall to the floor.  
  
He leaned his head down just far enough to kiss this top  
of hers, and wrapped his arms around her. He laid there  
in the semi-darkness, thinking of how wonderful it felt to  
hold her this way. He heavy eyes closed and his thoughts  
turned to dreams as he drifted off in restful sleep.  
  
The next morning ..  
  
The darkness had given way to bright sunlight as it filled  
the room with a new hope, exposing the remnants from  
the frightening scene the night before.  
  
Scully opened her eyes on the familiar yet strange  
surroundings, hearing the sharp knocks that had wakened  
her. She managed to crawl out of Mulder's embrace, and  
stepped quickly to answer the door.  
  
It opened to reveal Walter Skinner, looking both  
professional and concerned. "How's he doing?" he asked  
with stern sincerity.  
  
Her blues eyes revealed so much, but told him nothing.   
"It's been a hard night for him." He noticed her flinch as  
she said it, and knew that it must have been a hard night  
for her as well. Before he could ask anymore, a weary  
eyed Mulder appeared behind Scully confirming her  
statement.  
  
Skinner pressed his teeth tightly together to retain his  
stern and professional demeanor, secretly unsettled at the  
void he still saw in Mulder's eyes. But there was a  
newness there too, which he was sure must be Scully.  



End file.
